Gatekeeper
by 4fireking
Summary: Commission from Lynarg and outside da box. In what should have been a normal Akuma hunt, Allen and his friends met a human with a special gift. But he uses his gift against the Black Guild. It's up to them to break back in. But he's not someone who will go down easy.


**This is a collaboration story written by 4fireking, Lnyarg, and outside da box. I don't know it will continue but it was fun working with them. I hope I'm not too busy. **

XXX

Allen Walker, a fifteen year old Exorcists, was that last of the trio to get off of the train before it departed. Timcanpy was tucked under his exorcist hood, out of view from the rest of the people of the train platform. Vaguely, he watched the steam rise from the train pipes as the engine started up again. As quickly as the train had come to drop them off, it was gone. Allen turned his attention back to the other two.

Kanda and Lenalee where both looking at the town they were going to search. Lenalee, with a pleasant aura, and Kanda with an air of barely disguised contempt. Allen signed in annoyance at the other male exorcist, the mission hadn't even begun yet and here Kanda was making it harder for everyone else.

" This is the place, supposedly a demon lives here." Lenalee looked around at the rather normal looking city.

People walked to and fro, making their way through their lives as though nothing was wrong. Allen knew what everyone wasn't saying here, this was a far cry from what they had heard in the mission briefing.

" Well, there have been rumors about this town for several months now." Komui's words came back to him.

Allen wasn't quite sure what to think of this mission when he'd been given it. First off, he was once again being paired with Kanda. Things were bound to be difficult by those standards alone. Second, this mission had a eerie reminiscence to the incident where he had met Krory.

" Basically, a demon has been said to have come to the town and began ruling it with it's powers." Komui told them as both he, Kanda, and Lenalee looked through the details that their mission report gave.

Allen sighed, there wasn't really much else in there. Basically just rumors that were being told since the town didn't have many major dealing with other towns. Their location was just to distant and, even with the railway, people just didn't seem to go there a lot.

" Are you sure that the rumors aren't just exaggerations of some noble or official?" Kanda questioned.

Allen could already tell Kanda thought that the rumors were baseless, thus a waste of time. Lenalee knocked him on the head with her own mission report.

" It's a secluded area, so there's always a possibility that the rumors are true. We can't just dismiss them out right. Besides, why haven't there been any finder reports?" Her attention turned to Komui.

He coughed, as though embarrassed by the question.

" Well, the truth is that as soon as outsiders started questioning them the towns people ran them out. So that's something that you're going to have to avoid. If people ask why you're there you'll need to make up another reason."

" Another... Reason? Like what?" Allen pressed the man for clearer instructions, unsure of how to make up any sort of cover story.

" Oh, you know..." Komui suddenly seemed very interested in looking at the mission report then addressing Allen.

" Brother..." Lenalee sighed.

The idea of a city in the iron grip of an evil demon seemed strange enough the first time he heard it. Now looking at the city, Allen was even more skeptical about the rumors. People walked to and from work and places to eat since it was noon. Nobody seemed like they were under an iron fist. Still, why go to such lengths as to chase away the finders. Could there be something to hide?

" My, my, looks like we have some new travelers here. Care for some fresh fruits." Allen looked towards the shall where an old woman was indeed selling fruits.

" Yes! I'm starving. What do have here? -Huh!?" Allen jolted when he saw the prices of the fruit, they were unbelievable.

" Oh, the prices are higher here then in other areas. A lot of the food is brought in buy train." She reassured him.

Normally, Allen would been able to believe such a thing. But the food prices here were three times the normal rate of any fruit he'd ever seen being sold, anywhere. There was only so much you could charge for something before the price became ridiculous. Lenalee had come over to see why Allen had been stunned, and quickly followed suit with his reaction.

" Are the prices like this everywhere in town!?" She cried.

Sure, exorcists had pretty much everything paid for them by the Black Order. But if the charges for everything were going to be unreasonably high, then even Komui was going to have a problem. Judging by the old woman's flustered expression, it seemed that the cost of living here was quite high.

" Listen. If you buy a bundle of fruit instead of one or two, then I'll give you a discount. Just buy something, and don't make a scene." The seller didn't seem particular angry with them, just worried.

Allen's stomach rumbled, he was really hungry. Hungry enough to eat a whole bundle of fruit. So he agreed to the deal. After words, the woman motioned for them to go on.

It was, to Allen's disbelieve and horror, normal for the prices to be sky high in this town. Nothing was priced normally, and everyone selling strongly insisted that this was because of things being brought in via train. The more it was said, the less Allen believed it. The other two Exorcists were of the same mind, it was pretty bad when Allen found himself and Kanda agreeing on something.

" They're hiding something." He gave when Lenalee asked him for his thoughts.

It was odd the see Kanda be remotely nice to anyone. But even though he was still as quiet as usual, he didn't seem angry about having to answer Lenalee's question.

" The problem is that if we ask them directly, we'll be run out of town. We have to find another way to get this information." She sighed.

Their efforts for that whole day seemed to be looking around the entire town. Nothing appeared out of the ordinary until the three hit a path that seemed to be going towards a mansion.

" You three! Stop!" a young woman called after them.

They all stopped, she hurried over to them quickly. She had brown hair, cut to neck length, and wore a rather old looking servant dress. She scowled as she looked at the three of them.

" That's the ruling Noble's house, you can't just go there without permission." She chided them all.

" Ah! Really? We weren't familiar with the area, so we got lost." Lenalee said quickly.

" Yeah, well now you know. There are punishments for those who trespass on those lands." She stared at them when she finished. No, Allen decided it was more of a glare.

" I-I see..." Lenalee said.

Then woman continued to glare at them.

" Is something the matter?" Lenalee asked nervously.

" I just told you you're not allowed there, so why aren't you leaving?" She asked the trio.

Allen felt the killer intent in the woman's gaze. She wasn't going to be content with just telling them about the danger. No, she was going to make sure they went back to town. After a few more moments, that's what they did. Well, Lenalee had to grab Kanda and drag him along. He'd never been content with being ordered to do something.

Finally, they managed to get an inn for the night.

" Of all the places we checked, the mansion is the most likely place for any mysterious things to happen." Lenalee pondered, as the sat around a table.

The first floor of the inn doubled as a restaurant, so they all come to eat dinner there. The next course of action seemed to be pretty clear, sneak into the mansion to see what was going on. Or at least it had been. Before Allen could get started on a second course, what seemed like an earthquake rocked the entire building. Thought the sound suggested that an explosion occurred nearby.

Running outside, the trio saw that something had crashed into a nearby building. Allen hurried over, Innocence activated, to the site. The others followed as well, Lenalee soon getting ahead of them with her dark boots.

It seemed to be a general store with a house at the top. Allen could hear the screams of a man upstairs.

" Please! Please!." Was he begging for his life?

Allen had expected an Akuma to be in there, attempting to murder innocent people. The door was kicked open, Allen burst in. Lenalee was there, grabbing to small children and jumping them to safety, but she hadn't managed to grab the man.

The shock that hit him seemed to be paralyzing, because the scene was all wrong. There wasn't an Akuma attacking the man. It was another human.

" Please sir! I'll pay the taxes soon! Please, don't kill me!" The man pleaded.

The other simply smirked as his plight, right before he killed him.

" I don't give second chances." he said to what was left of the man's body.


End file.
